First-Ever Virtual Roll on Capitol Hill


Roll on Capitol HillJune 14-16, 2021

The first-ever virtual Roll on Capitol Hill is less than two months away, and the United Spinal advocacy and policy team is excited to work with you to elevate the voices of the SCI/D community and advocate for policies that empower it.

In 2020, everyone had to weather personal challenges and isolation within their own families, neighborhoods and co-worker networks. We all look forward to getting back to our lives as much as possible this year. And this spring, there is hope. At the time I’m writing this, the United States has administered 100 million doses of vaccines and the new administration has set a goal of making vaccine doses available to all adults by May 1.

Our community has understood and relied on the importance of living in a virtual world for decades and the pandemic has crystallized the value of this for a wider audience. Due to the great advocacy work of so many of you out there, our policymakers have focused on bills and regulations to expand access to broadband (see our latest Advocacy Series session from March 29 about broadband: Living in a Virtual World: What that Means to the Disability Community)

On June 14-16 at the virtual Roll on Capitol Hill we will focus on the following issues for our community:

• Supporting legislation that will require coverage of home and community-based services under the Medicaid program. In 2020, everyone saw very clearly that too many people could not access the care they needed in their homes and communities. The patchwork system that currently exists through Medicaid HCBS waiver programs, where access to services depends on the state where you live, only highlights the need for the creation of a comprehensive, sustainable program. For our veterans, we will also advocate for improved access to caregiving supports under the Expansion of the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as protections from toxic exposure with the Toxic Exposure in the American Military Act which will expand health care eligibility and create a framework for establishing presumptive service connection for all military toxic exposures, now and in the future.

• Because our community needs to leave our houses to take care of critical medical appointments, pick up our kids from school, and live active lives, we again support the Disability Access to Transportation Act. United Spinal helped introduce the bill in 2020 and helped with its reintroduction this year, thanks to Representatives James Langevin (D-RI), and Dina Titus (D-NV). The bill establishes a paratransit program that allows for an additional stop, as part of a current paratransit trip, to locations such as childcare or education facilities; pharmacies; grocery stores; and bank or ATM locations; increases funding for transportation programs for people with disabilities and older adults and simplifies the consumer reporting of accessibility complaints at the Federal Transit Administration.

• We will be asking members of Congress to support United Spinal’s 75th anniversary by cosponsoring a Congressional resolution, issuing a proclamation or submitting a statement for the Congressional Record. Our chapters and advocates around the country can also help by asking their state legislatures and mayors to do the same. For more information, visit unitedspinal.org/75th-anniversary/advocacy-challenges/.

For more on our first-ever virtual Roll on Capitol Hill, June 14-16, 2021, visit unitedspinal.org/roll-on-capitol-hill/. To get the latest Roll updates and information, contact your chapter, subscribe to our advocacy newsletters and alerts, unitedspinal.org/newsletters/ or sign up for our District Mobilization initiative. Thank you all and let’s keep rolling!

— Alex Bennewith, Vice President, Government Relations

 


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